John e



(No Model.)

J. E. MILLER.

MANUFAGTURE 0F GLASS SHOES 0R SLIPPERS. No. 351,197. Patented Oct. 19, 1886.

FIG-3.

NrrE STATES LATENT FFIcE.

JOHN E. MILLER, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO GEORGE DUNCAN & SONS AND BRYCE BROTHERS, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

MANUFACTURE OF GLASS SHOES OR SLIPPERS.

SPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 351,197, dated October 19,1886.

Application filed April 7, 1886. SerialNo. 198,097. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN E. MILLER, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the lllanut'aeture of Glass Shoes or Slippers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Many attempts have been made by manu IO facturers of glass ornaments and vessels to re produce in a glass article the design of a hollow shoe or slipper; but, owing to the impractieability of pressing the shoe by means of the methods heretofore employ ed for that purpose,

no very sightly article has as yet been made.

All of those known to me have had the toe and part of the ball of the shoe made of solid glass, and are without the neat and light appearance of the hollow shoe.

My invention consists in a peculiar form of glass shoe and ina mode of making it. I shall describe it by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure I is a perspective view illustrating the shape first given to the glass shoe in my improved method of manufacture. Fig. is a view of the last used in finally shaping the shoe. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line at 00 of Fig. 2, showing it as it is when placed go inside of the partlytinished shoe, the latter being indicated by dotted lines. Fig. at is a perspective view of the completed shoe.

Like letters of referent-e indicate like parts in each.

5 The method of making the shoe consists of several steps, the first of which is to press the shoe in a suitable mold, whose shape is such that the form of the pressed shoe shall be that shown in' Fig. 1, the heel being regularly 40 formed, but the vamp or upper separated longitudinally down to or nearly to the toe, the sides of the vamp standing upright. There is no difticulty either in inserting or removing the plunger to make the shoe of this shape.

The next step in the process is to insert a last into the open shoe shown in Fig. 1, and when the article is heated and is in a plastic condition to bend the spread parts of the Vamp over upon the last, thus giving the proper 5 o shape and finish to the shoe. The last is then removed from the shoe. The last is marked a in the drawings, and the result of bending the vamp over upon it is shown in Fig. 4, the

shoe then having a longitudinal separation or crevice, b, in the middle of the vamp. In ordcr to make the final crevice I) well defined and regular, I prefer to provide the last with a longitudinal rib, a. (Shown in Figs. 2 and 3.) In bending the vamp its separated edges come into contact with the opposite sides of this rib. The effect of this process is not only to enable the easy manufacture of hollow glass shoes, but the separation of thevamp also adds to the ncatness and ornamental appearance of the finished product. i

The shape of the last will of course depend upon the form desired to be given to the shoel The bending of the vamp may be done without inserting the last, though it will then be found difficult to obtain the proper shape.

I do not limit the scope of this invention to its application to glass shoes or slippers, since it may be practiced in the manufacture of other forms of hollow glassware in which there is alike difiiculty in inserting a plunger.

I claim as my invention 1. The method hereiirbet'ore described of making glass shoes or slippers,\vhich consists in pressing a glass shoe or slipper with its vamp or upper separated, and then bending the separated portions of the vamp together, snbstantiall y as and for the purposes described.

2. The method hereinbefore described of making glass shoes or slippers, which consists 85 in pressing a glass shoe or slipper with its vamp or upper separated, then inserting a last into the article so made under the vamp, and finally bending the separated portions of the vamp together over the last, substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. A hollow glass shoe or slipper whose vamp is open, as at b, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 95 my hand this 1st day of April, A. D. 1886.

JOHN E. MILLER.

lVitnesses:

W. B. OoRwIN, THOMAS W. BAKEWELL. 

